Emmett D. Chisum Special Collections supports the mission of the University of Wyoming Libraries to provide information resources and services to meet the instructional, research, and outreach needs of UW Students, faculty and staff. It also serves the research needs of Wyoming citizens as well as researchers from around the world. There are more than 50,000 published items located within Emmett D. Chisum Special Collections primarily related to Wyoming's history and culture. Collections include:
Materials held in the general special collections include items deemed to be of high value, possibly rare, but that do not fall under the collection guidelines of the Toppan Rare Books Library. These materials have been donated and collected throughout the University libraries history; and encompass a wide variety of subjects, national and international in scope.
Both Emmett D. Chisum Special Collections and the American Heritage Center collect information about and from the University of Wyoming to support research and teaching, as well as course work. While Emmett D. Chisum Special Collections collects and makes available published UW information, the American Heritage Center serves as the repository for unpublished University Archives. Formats in special collections include bulletins and catalogs, research reports, administrative materials and records, The Branding Iron (student newspaper), WYO (student yearbook), books, film, video, audio recordings, and maps